Bird brains? 小鳥的「大」腦?

A racing pigeon stands on its cage in Jakarta.雅加達一隻賽鴿在牠的籠子上。 (照片：美聯社)

PHOTO : AP

Birds may have really small brains, but that doesn't mean they are stupid. For example, pigeons are much smarter birds than you might think.

There are some pigeons that know how to find their home from hundreds of kilometers away without getting lost. Because of this special ability, people used to use pigeons to carry messages over long distances. They would write a message on a piece of paper and tie it to their pigeon's leg, then let it go. In fact, there were some armies that used pigeons to deliver messages during wars as late as the 1950s. Now that everybody has a telephone, people don't need pigeons to deliver messages. Instead, they use them for fun. All over the world, there are pigeon races to see whose pigeon can fly home the fastest.